Ratnarajah
Vettivelu Ratnarajah (1962 – 1997)
Ratnarajah was a Pera DC member who was working as a Civil Engineer in Trinco in the 1990’s. He was killed in 1997 in a bomb blast at the opening of a new school building in Trincomalee that he had helped to build.
From the FOCUS News of July-September 1997:
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose” – Jim Elliot
When I think of Ratnarajah what first comes to mind is his smile, the way he would talk with warmth and gentleness. I remember his enthusiasm to try something new and how he never said ‘no’ to a challenge.
I got to know Ratnarajah more closely when we worked on the GCF committee together. An instructor at the University of Peradeniya at the time, he was the GCF committee Kandy representative. He was faithful at committee meetings and SOCS weekends, and sought to bring the Kandy GCF group together. During this time his younger brother, a students at Aruppola Technical College ‘disappeared’. We, as a fellowship, prayed with him for a long time, that he would be ‘found’. Ratnarajah refused to get bitter with God, and his unwavering faith in the God who is in control of all situations challenged my own faith.
Ratnarajah then joined the Education Department N.E. Provincial Council and had to leave the GCF committee. But he continued to come to Colombo often on official work and usually stayed with Rohan and me. Memories of our times together including the night our house was flooded (when he alerted us after waking up to find his mat and sheet soaked). His cheerfulness and willingness to help in all situations will not be forgotten.
Over the years in Trinco, he built up a reputation as a scrupulously honest engineer who sought to use the maximum amount of large funds available for the schools without wastage. He would tell us of the large sums of payments he had to authorize and the pressure from contractors and ‘higher-ups’ to falsify accounts. He would not authorize anything without inspection, and this meant traveling long distances to both ‘tiger’ and Government controlled areas often on foot or push-bike. Every day when he left the house he was very conscious of the risk that he may not return alive. He told me how often he spent for travel out of his own pocket, a sad contrast to the many Government officers in Colombo who claim allowances without doing any work.
Although he had a hectic schedule, he always took time to learn new things and pass this knowledge on to other engineers, foremen and contractors. The poor, he believed, deserved nothing but the best where professional competence was concerned. A brother who stayed with him recently told me that in the evenings many would visit him to seek advice on buildings etc., and he gave them this time ungrudgingly.
When asked why he chose this job, with its risks, when he could have sought ‘greener pastures’ like many of his batch-mates, his answer was simple: ‘I am doing what God wants me to do. I do not fear men and what men can do, I only fear God.’
So, farewell! Dear brother, till we meet again in God’s kingdom. Though I grieve and do not understand why God allowed you to be taken away, I acknowledge that He is the giver and taker of life and we have to trust in Him. As your life reflected your deep faith in God may your death also be a mighty witness to our God, and challenge us to a life that reflects God’s eternal values.
“I tell you truly, that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains a single grain of wheat, but if it dies, it brings a harvest. The man who loves his own life will lose it, and the man who hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” –Jesus Christ
Ratnarajah is standing second from left. The photo is of a Kandy GCF get-together.
Sharmini Wickramaratne